Learning how to make comparisons is an essential part of French grammar. Whether you want to say “more interesting,” “less expensive,” “as tall as,” “better,” or “the most important,” you need to understand how French comparatives work.

In this guide, you will learn French comparatives step by step, including the structures plus… que, moins… que, aussi… que, and the important irregular forms meilleur and mieux.

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What Are Comparatives in French?

French comparatives are used to compare two people, things, places, actions, or ideas.

For example:

• Marie est plus grande que Sophie.
  → Marie is taller than Sophie.
• Ce livre est moins intéressant que celui-là.
  → This book is less interesting than that one.
• Paul est aussi intelligent que Jean.
  → Paul is as intelligent as Jean.

The basic French comparative structures are:

Type	French Structure	English Meaning
More	plus + adjective + que	more… than
Less	moins + adjective + que	less… than
Equal	aussi + adjective + que	as… as

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1. The Comparative of Superiority: Plus… que

Use plus… que when one person or thing has a greater quality than another.

Structure

Subject + être + plus + adjective + que + comparison

Examples

Paul est plus grand que Marc.
→ Paul is taller than Marc.

Cette voiture est plus rapide que l’autre.
→ This car is faster than the other one.

Paris est plus grand que Lyon.
→ Paris is bigger than Lyon.

Ce film est plus intéressant que le précédent.
→ This film is more interesting than the previous one.

Important

The adjective must agree with the noun it describes.

Compare:

• Paul est plus grand que Marc.
• Marie est plus grande que Sophie.
• Paul et Marc sont plus grands que Jean.
• Marie et Sophie sont plus grandes que Claire.

The word plus does not change, but the adjective may change according to gender and number.

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2. The Comparative of Inferiority: Moins… que

Use moins… que when one person or thing has a lesser quality than another.

Structure

Subject + verb + moins + adjective + que + comparison

Examples

Paul est moins grand que Marc.
→ Paul is less tall than Marc.

Cette voiture est moins chère que celle-là.
→ This car is less expensive than that one.

Ce restaurant est moins populaire que l’autre.
→ This restaurant is less popular than the other one.

Elle est moins timide que sa sœur.
→ She is less shy than her sister.

Again, the adjective agrees with the subject:

• Il est moins intelligent.
• Elle est moins intelligente.
• Ils sont moins intelligents.
• Elles sont moins intelligentes.

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3. The Comparative of Equality: Aussi… que

Use aussi… que when two people or things have the same degree of a quality.

Structure

Subject + verb + aussi + adjective + que + comparison

Examples

Paul est aussi grand que Marc.
→ Paul is as tall as Marc.

Marie est aussi intelligente que Sophie.
→ Marie is as intelligent as Sophie.

Ce livre est aussi intéressant que celui-ci.
→ This book is as interesting as this one.

Paris est aussi beau que Lyon.
→ Paris is as beautiful as Lyon.

The structure is:

aussi + adjective + que

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4. French Comparatives with Adjectives

Adjectives are one of the most common ways to make comparisons in French.

Here are some useful examples:

French	English
plus grand que	taller/bigger than
plus petit que	smaller than
plus rapide que	faster than
plus lent que	slower than
plus cher que	more expensive than
plus facile que	easier than
plus difficile que	more difficult than
moins intéressant que	less interesting than
aussi important que	as important as

Examples

Le français est plus difficile que l’espagnol.
→ French is more difficult than Spanish.

Cette question est moins difficile que la précédente.
→ This question is less difficult than the previous one.

Ce sujet est aussi important que l’autre.
→ This topic is as important as the other one.

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5. Comparatives with Adverbs

French comparatives can also be used with adverbs.

The structures are:

• plus + adverb + que → more… than
• moins + adverb + que → less… than
• aussi + adverb + que → as… as

Examples

Il court plus vite que moi.
→ He runs faster than me.

Elle parle moins rapidement que son frère.
→ She speaks less quickly than her brother.

Il travaille aussi efficacement que son collègue.
→ He works as efficiently as his colleague.

Remember

With adverbs, the adverb itself normally does not agree in gender or number.

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6. Comparatives with Nouns

When comparing quantities of nouns, French uses:

• plus de… que → more… than
• moins de… que → less/fewer… than
• autant de… que → as much/as many… as

Notice that de is used before the noun.

Plus de… que

J’ai plus de livres que toi.
→ I have more books than you.

Elle a plus de temps que moi.
→ She has more time than me.

Moins de… que

J’ai moins de livres que toi.
→ I have fewer books than you.

Il a moins de travail que son collègue.
→ He has less work than his colleague.

Autant de… que

J’ai autant de livres que toi.
→ I have as many books as you.

Elle a autant de travail que lui.
→ She has as much work as him.

Quick comparison

English	French
more books than	plus de livres que
fewer books than	moins de livres que
as many books as	autant de livres que
more time than	plus de temps que
less time than	moins de temps que
as much time as	autant de temps que

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7. Comparatives with Verbs

You can also compare actions using verbs.

The basic structures are:

• verb + plus que → more than
• verb + moins que → less than
• verb + autant que → as much/as much as

Examples

Je travaille plus que lui.
→ I work more than him.

Elle travaille moins que moi.
→ She works less than me.

Nous voyageons autant qu’eux.
→ We travel as much as they do.

This is different from comparing adjectives.

Compare:

Elle est plus rapide que moi.
→ She is faster than me.

Elle court plus vite que moi.
→ She runs faster than me.

The first sentence compares an adjective: rapide.

The second compares an adverb: vite.

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8. Meilleur vs. Plus Bon

One of the most important French comparative rules concerns bon.

Instead of saying:

❌ plus bon

French normally uses:

meilleur / meilleure / meilleurs / meilleures

Meilleur is the comparative form of bon.

Examples

Ce restaurant est meilleur que l’autre.
→ This restaurant is better than the other one.

Cette pizza est meilleure que celle-là.
→ This pizza is better than that one.

Ces produits sont meilleurs que les anciens.
→ These products are better than the old ones.

Agreement of meilleur

Gender/Number	Form
Masculine singular	meilleur
Feminine singular	meilleure
Masculine plural	meilleurs
Feminine plural	meilleures

Examples

• un meilleur livre
• une meilleure idée
• de meilleurs résultats
• de meilleures conditions

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9. Mieux vs. Plus Bien

Another important irregular comparative is bien.

Instead of normally saying:

❌ plus bien

French uses:

mieux

Mieux is the comparative form of bien.

Examples

Elle parle français mieux que moi.
→ She speaks French better than me.

Il travaille mieux que son collègue.
→ He works better than his colleague.

Je me sens mieux aujourd’hui.
→ I feel better today.

Meilleur vs. Mieux

This distinction is extremely important.

Meilleur is related to the adjective bon.

Mieux is related to the adverb bien.

Compare:

Ce livre est meilleur que l’autre.
→ This book is better than the other one.

Il écrit mieux que moi.
→ He writes better than me.

A useful rule is:

bon → meilleur
bien → mieux

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10. Comparatives with “Than”: Que

The French word que is generally used to introduce the second element of an adjective or adverb comparison.

Examples:

Il est plus grand que moi.
→ He is taller than me.

Elle parle plus vite que son frère.
→ She speaks faster than her brother.

Ce film est moins intéressant que celui-ci.
→ This film is less interesting than this one.

However, when comparing quantities with nouns, use de:

J’ai plus de livres que toi.
→ I have more books than you.

So remember:

• plus + adjective + que
• plus + adverb + que
• plus de + noun + que

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11. Comparing Two Actions

French can compare two actions using plus… que, moins… que, or autant… que.

Examples

Il travaille plus que moi.
→ He works more than I do.

Elle dort moins que son frère.
→ She sleeps less than her brother.

Nous étudions autant qu’eux.
→ We study as much as they do.

You can also compare how actions are performed:

Elle chante mieux que moi.
→ She sings better than me.

Il court plus vite que son frère.
→ He runs faster than his brother.

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12. Common French Comparative Expressions

Here are some useful expressions you will frequently encounter:

French Expression	English Meaning
plus que	more than
moins que	less than
aussi que	as… as
plus de	more
moins de	less/fewer
autant de	as much/as many
meilleur que	better than
mieux que	better than
pire que	worse than
davantage que	more than

Examples

Il travaille davantage que moi.
→ He works more than me.

Cette situation est pire que prévu.
→ This situation is worse than expected.

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13. Pire vs. Plus Mauvais

The adjective mauvais has an irregular comparative form:

pire

Therefore, pire is commonly used instead of plus mauvais.

Examples

La situation est pire qu’hier.
→ The situation is worse than yesterday.

C’est pire que je ne pensais.
→ It is worse than I thought.

You may encounter plus mauvais in some contexts, but pire is the standard and very common form when making a comparison.

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14. Comparative Adjectives: Agreement Rules

The words plus, moins, and aussi do not change.

The adjective following them must agree with the noun or subject.

Masculine singular

Paul est plus intelligent que Marc.

Feminine singular

Marie est plus intelligente que Sophie.

Masculine plural

Paul et Marc sont plus intelligents que Jean.

Feminine plural

Marie et Sophie sont plus intelligentes que Claire.

This means that the comparative structure itself remains unchanged, while the adjective follows normal French agreement rules.

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15. Common Mistakes with French Comparatives

Mistake 1: Using “plus bon”

❌ Ce restaurant est plus bon que l’autre.

Better:

✅ Ce restaurant est meilleur que l’autre.

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Mistake 2: Using “plus bien”

❌ Il travaille plus bien que moi.

Correct:

✅ Il travaille mieux que moi.

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Mistake 3: Forgetting “de” with nouns

❌ J’ai plus livres que lui.

Correct:

✅ J’ai plus de livres que lui.

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Mistake 4: Forgetting adjective agreement

❌ Marie est plus intelligent que Sophie.

Correct:

✅ Marie est plus intelligente que Sophie.

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Mistake 5: Confusing meilleur and mieux

Remember:

meilleur → adjective

mieux → adverb

Compare:

• C’est un meilleur restaurant.
• Il cuisine mieux.

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16. French Comparatives at a Glance

Here is a simple summary of the main rules:

What are you comparing?	More	Less	Equal
Adjective	plus + adj. + que	moins + adj. + que	aussi + adj. + que
Adverb	plus + adv. + que	moins + adv. + que	aussi + adv. + que
Noun	plus de + noun + que	moins de + noun + que	autant de + noun + que
Verb	plus que	moins que	autant que

Examples

Adjective:
Elle est plus grande que moi.

Adverb:
Elle court plus vite que moi.

Noun:
Elle a plus de livres que moi.

Verb:
Elle travaille plus que moi.

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17. French Comparative Practice

Try completing the following sentences with the correct comparative form.

Exercise 1

Paul est ______ grand que Marc.
(more)

Exercise 2

Marie est ______ intelligente que Sophie.
(as)

Exercise 3

Ce livre est ______ intéressant que l’autre.
(less)

Exercise 4

J’ai ______ de livres que toi.
(more)

Exercise 5

Il travaille ______ que moi.
(better)

Exercise 6

Cette voiture est ______ que celle-là.
(better)

Exercise 7

Elle court ______ vite que son frère.
(more)

Answers

1. plus
2. aussi
3. moins
4. plus
5. mieux
6. meilleure
7. plus

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18. Easy Formula to Remember French Comparatives

For adjectives and adverbs, remember:

PLUS = more
MOINS = less
AUSSI = as

Then add:

QUE = than/as

For nouns:

PLUS DE = more
MOINS DE = less/fewer
AUTANT DE = as much/as many

For irregular forms:

BON → MEILLEUR
BIEN → MIEUX
MAUVAIS → PIRE

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Conclusion

French comparatives become much easier once you understand a few basic patterns. Use plus… que for “more… than,” moins… que for “less… than,” and aussi… que for “as… as.”

When comparing nouns, remember plus de, moins de, and autant de. For actions, use plus, moins, and autant. Finally, pay special attention to the irregular forms meilleur, mieux, and pire.

Mastering these structures will help you describe people, compare objects, discuss preferences, and express differences more naturally in French.

If you are learning French step by step, practicing these comparative structures with simple sentences is one of the best ways to build confidence and improve your French communication skills.

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Frequently Asked Questions About French Comparatives

What is the comparative form in French?

The main French comparative structures are plus… que (more than), moins… que (less than), and aussi… que (as… as).

How do you say “more than” in French?

“More than” is generally plus que. With a noun, use plus de + noun + que.

Example: J’ai plus de livres que toi.

How do you say “less than” in French?

Use moins que with adjectives, adverbs, or verbs. With nouns, use moins de + noun + que.

How do you say “as… as” in French?

Use aussi + adjective/adverb + que.

Example: Il est aussi grand que son frère.

What is the difference between meilleur and mieux?

Meilleur is the comparative form related to the adjective bon, while mieux is the comparative form related to the adverb bien.

• Ce livre est meilleur. → This book is better.
• Elle chante mieux. → She sings better.

What is the French word for “worse”?

The common comparative form is pire.

Example: La situation est pire qu’avant.
→ The situation is worse than before.